Dragged Under The Shadows
by SonicGirl4Ever
Summary: When Sonic is kidnapped by strange shadow creatures, he'll have to rely on Tails, Knuckles, and the others to rescue him from the shadowy depths. Maybe even Eggman will join in the quest to save Sonic! Can Sonic's friends rescue him before it's too late?
1. Premise

"Ssso...Hesss the chosssen one?" an evil voice hissed.  
Another voice spoke up; this voice was lower. "Yesss...He isss the key to dessstruction in thisss eyesore of a world."  
A third voice spoke. It was the most affirmative and loudest of them all. "Sssilenccce!...You are all foolsss...He may be an advantage to usss, but he isss alssso a weaknesss...If he goesss againssst usss, there isss no way we can win."  
The first voice spoke again. "Ssso how are we going to make him one of usss?"  
The last voice spoke. "It's quit sssimple, Vorda. We will _change_ him..."  
The low voice spoke next. "How?"  
"Oh, Gragon...How do you make yourssself look ssso ssstupid? You and Vorda shall go capture him and bring him to me. I will take care of the ressst."  
Vorda and Gragon both nodded and seemed to disappear into the shadows.  
The leader, Oxidai, remained where he was. He continued to look into a crystal ball, which showed a picture of the "chosen one"...  
Sonic the Hedgehog.


	2. It's A Trap!

Sonic, Knuckles and Tails were running through the forest.  
"I can feel it!" Knuckles shouted to Sonic and Tails. "The Chaos Emerald is close by!"  
Tails looked at his wrist monitor, which showed their current location. "There's a fork in the road up ahead. Knuckles, can you feel which way the emerald is?"  
Knuckles tried to feel the power, but it was too confusing. "No...I can't."  
Sonic smiled cockily. "Then we'll have to split up."  
Knuckles was the first to volunteer. "I'll go alone. You and Tails can go together."  
Tails looked a little worried. These woods weren't the safest place on Mobius. "Are you sure about that, Knuckles?"  
Knuckles glanced at Tails. "Are you doubting me?"  
Tails waved his hands in front of his face. "Nononono! Not at all! It's just that-"  
Sonic interrupted. "It's settled. C'mon Tails!"  
Tails gave Knuckles one last look, then followed Sonic.  
Knuckles ran in the opposite direction, hoping to find the Chaos Emerald.

"Tails! Any new readings?"  
Tails checked and shook his head. "Nope."  
Sonic sped up a little. "We'll keep going. I've been through here before. There should be-" He stopped short and back-tracked a few paces. "What the?"  
Tails turned around and landed next to Sonic. "Hey! It's a Chaos Emerald!" He was about to go in to get it when Sonic stopped him.  
"It could be a trap!"  
Tails remembered his monitor and checked to see if there were any new readings. For some reason, the line was disconnected, and there was static and white noise on the screen. "The line's dead..."  
Sonic flashed a cocky grin and walked forward. "I'll get it."  
Tails was worried again. "Sonic! What if it's a trap?"  
Sonic winked. "Don't worry! I'm fast enough!"  
But right when Sonic touched the Chaos Emerald, there was a purple blast.  
"AAAH!" Tails screamed.  
Sonic jumped back. "What's going on here?"  
Tails pointed at the place where the Chaos Emerald was. "Sonic! Look!"  
Sonic took a look and stared in awe.  
A strange, demonic purple and black figure was rising from the Chaos Emerald. It moved like a spirit, and it had slanted, yellow eyes and a big, teeth-infested mouth. Then, it spoke.  
"Sssonic the Hedgehog! You will come with usss with or without a fight! You have no other choice!"  
Sonic took a good look at his enemy. _"It doesn't look like this is gonna be a fair fight! This guy's untouchable!" _But Sonic wasn't about to give in. "No way am I going ANYWHERE with you guys!" The purple spirit laughed evily. "You have made a wrong choice!" There was a cry of fear coming from behind Sonic...


	3. Kidnapped

"Tails!" Sonic shouted.  
Tails was in the grasp of another demon-like entity. It was cackling evily, staring at poor Tails menacingly.  
"Sssurrender to usss now, or we'll take your friend inssstead!"  
Sonic knew that these guys were unlike any enemy he's faced before. He also knew that Eggman wasn't behind this. But he was certain that he wasn't about to let them take Tails. "Wait!" he called to them. "Let him go, and I'll go with you."  
Tails couldn't belive his ears. "WHAT? No! You can't, Sonic!"  
Sonic tried to ignore Tails. "You heard me, you creeps. Let him go-gently."  
The spirits brought Tails to the ground gently.  
Right as Sonic saw that Tails was safe, he ran towards the demons. But they had seen this coming.  
They shot out smaller ghost-like demons that all clobbered Sonic and stuck to him like glue. Then, they began to pull Sonic down-he was sinking right into the ground.  
"Gah!" Sonic said as more and more began to crawl on top of him. "Tails! Get out of here!"  
Tails was close to tears. "NO! I won't leave without you!" He charged at the spirits, but stopped when Sonic yelled at him, almost like he was angry at him.  
"NO TAILS! I said GET OUT OF HERE!" Sonic was up to his head now. "Get out of here and find out who these creeps are!"  
Tails was crying now. "S-Sonic..."  
Sonic gave him a reassuring wink. "You can do it, buddy."  
That was the last thing Sonic said before he disappeared into the ground, leaving Tails all alone in the forest.

"Knuckles!" Tails shouted as loud as he could. He had returned to the fork in the road and went in the direction Knuckles went.  
Knuckles appeared next to him. "What? Where's Sonic?"  
Tails wasted no time explaining what happened.  
"Sonic was captured?" Knuckles exclaimed.  
Tails nodded urgently. "Yeah! C'mon, we have to go. NOW!"  
Knuckles grabbed Tails and sat him down. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid! There's no need to rush! Besides, he have no clue who these guys are and where they took Sonic. Let's get everyone else together, and see what they think. Then we'll think of a plan. 'Kay?"  
Tails sniffed a little and nodded. "'Kay..."  
Knuckles was about to respond when he was caught in a bear hug by Tails. "Gack!"  
Tails was holding him tightly. "What's gonna happen to Sonic? What if he doesn't come back? What if we can't save him? What if-"  
Knuckles patted the fox's head gingerly. "Uh, hey...He's Sonic, after all. Right? He'll pull through. We'll make sure that he comes back, safe and sound."  
Tails let go and blushed a little. He had just acted like a little 4 year-old. That was SO unlike him.  
"Right, so let's get everyone together. It's time to save Sonic!"


	4. The Abyss

Sonic woke up in a strange, dark, purple place. The walls were moving in a circular motion, making Sonic feel a little dizzy. A strange mist was enveloping the whole space he was in, and there were a few whispers here and there. When he tried to move, he realized he was tied to a stake in the ground.  
"Where am I?"  
All of a sudden, a ghost-like creature appeared in front of him. "Ah, you're awake. Allow me to introduccce myssself. I am Oxidai. I welcome you to the Abysss of Shadowsss!"  
Sonic smiled, despite the fear he was feeling. "Hey, you're one of the guys that attacked me! 'Sup?" The creature began to circle him in a ghostly fashion. "You're pretty cocky for a hedgehog. I can sssee why you're the 'Chosssen One'. You have an ubreakable will. A normal being would have sssuccumbed to the darknesss that liesss in the abysss, and would have turned into one of usss..."  
Sonic tried to move his hands, but they were tied at the back of the stake in the ground. The same went for his ankles. "Yeah, whatever...Nice place you got here." Sonic said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The creature passed through Sonic, making the hedgehog shiver a little. "You WILL sssurrender to usss eventually. We jussst have to wait." Sonic looked at him defiantly. "Heh. You wish!" The creature began to sink into the darkness. "We are immortal. We cannot die of old age. We can wait...and wait...and wait...We have all the time in the world...All the time in the world..." That was the last thing Sonic heard before he was left alone in the darkness...


	5. The Team

Tails called Amy using the miniature computer attached to his wrist. "Amy, do you read me?" After a few seconds, she replied back.  
"Yeah! What's the problem?"  
Tails took a second to breathe. She wasn't going to like the news. "...Sonic's been kidnapped."  
Amy yelled loudly into the speaker. "WHAT? What do you mean KIDNAPPED? My Sonic does NOT just get captured like that!"  
Tails tried to soothe Amy's rage. "Amy! Calm down. We'll rescue him, but we need all the help we can get. Knuckles is already trying to get a hold of Shadow. Call Cream and meet us at my workshop."  
Amy shook her head. "No WAY am I putting Cream in danger! She's far too young to be going on missions like this. But I'll be there as fast as I can!"  
Tails closed the call and went over to Knuckles. "Is Shadow coming?"  
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, but he told Eggman about it, and he said Eggman might know a little about those 'creatures' that took him."  
Tails stared at him wide-eyed. "Wha? Eggman's coming, too?"  
Knuckles shrugged. "I have no idea, but we'll need all the help we can get if we're gonna get Sonic back."  
Tails knew that was true. "I guess your right. We'll have to work together. Sonic's counting on us..." He remembered Sonic's last words to he before he disappeared into the ground.  
_"I know you can do it, buddy."_  
He heard someone running extremely fast and hard down the dirt path and looked up to see a pink blur running towards him. She stopped right in front of Tails and Knuckles. "I'm here, so let's go save Sonic!" Tails waved his hands. "Hold on, Amy! We still don't know much about the things that took him. Shadow says that-"  
"CONTROL!"  
There was a flash of light, and Shadow appeared before them. "I've arrived."  
Tails seemed confused. "Isn't Eggman coming?"  
Shadow put away the Chaos Emerald and took out a small computer. "No, but he can give you information through this." He handed Tails the device and Tails turned it on. Eggman's face appeared on the screen.


	6. Who?

"So what can you tell us about those things that got Sonic?" Knuckles asked.

A picture of the creature popped up on the screen. "Is this what it looked like?"

Tails recognized it instantly. "Yeah! That's the thing that took Sonic!"

Amy looked at it disapprovingly. "It doesn't look friendly, that's for sure."

Eggman's face appeared again. "I see... I have never seen these creatures in person, but I know quite a bit about them."

They all listened intently.

"First off, these creatures call themselves 'Night Shadows'. They really aren't much of a creature, but more of an energy. They come from a dimension known as the Abyss of Shadows. Legend tells of a time when the Night Shadows could roam our world. They engulfed the planet in everlasting darkness for many years until a being known as 'The Chosen One' appeared. He unleashed a powerful light that shone brighter than the Sun. The mortals called it 'The Current of Forbidden Light'. However, releasing this powerful light took up so much energy, it drained the Chosen One of his lifeforce. In his last words, he said that he would be reincarinated. The Night Shadows couldn't enter our world for some time, but as generations went by, they gained enough power to enter the mortal world for a short amount of time."

Everyone started to understand why the Night Shadows wanted Sonic.

"So that means..." Amy started.

"Sonic is the reincarnation of the Chosen One!" Tails finished.

Eggman nodded. "Exactly."

Knuckles was a little confused. "So why do they want Sonic?"

Eggman continued telling his story. "They aim to turn him into one of them. If the Chosen One surrenders to the darkness, then the Night Shadows will be able to roam our world once again."

Amy wagged a finger. "But Sonic was an unbreakable will. He'll never surrender!"

Eggman shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The Night Shadows have ways of making the Chosen One surrender. In other words, Sonic will 'surrender' when he cannot hold in the negative energy. And I'm afraid that even Sonic may not have long before he gives in..."


	7. More Scary Powers

Several hours had passed since Sonic had been kidnapped by the Night Shadows. Ever since then, he had remained tied to the stake in the ground, and he was getting extremely bored. He sighed, hoping that something exciting would happen soon. _If you guys are planning to rescue me, do it now... _he thought to himself.  
At that moment, something shifted in one of the dark corners of the cave. It was another Night Shadow, and Sonic rolled his eyes as it loomed over him. "Hm...It ssseems asss though you have not sssuccumbed to the darknesss yet..."  
Sonic merely smirked at the remark. "Trust me, buddy. It's gonna take a lot more than a gloomy cave infested with a few monsters to get me to-"  
The creature screamed in annoyance. "SILENCE!"  
Sonic blinked and listened to what it had to say.  
"Your insssolence has proven to be nothing but annoyanccce! I gave you a chanccce to give in, yet you disssobeyed me! You WILL bow down to usss and give usss your power!"  
Sonic cocked his head to one side. "Well, even if I wanted to , I don't think I could. 'Cause, y'know..." He motioned torwards the ropes with his head. "I'm a little tied up down here." He finished sarcastically.  
The Night Shadow was about to scream once again, but thought better of it and smiled evily, yet calmly. "...Fine. Since you're obviously not getting my point, I have no choice but to force you!"  
Sonic was about to make a smart remark, when a swarm of Night Shadows began to surround him.  
The leader cackled evily. "They say that the soul is the weakest when the body is asleep. If we can't reach you here, then we'll no doubt reach you in your sleep!"  
The Night Shadows began to sink into Sonic's body, almost like a ghost.  
Sonic felt an ice cold pain run through his body as they began to disappear within him. He felt his eyes grow heavy, and Sonic found that he had to fight to keep his eyes open.  
The leader of the Night Shadows cupped Sonic's chin so that they could meet eye-to-eye. "Face it, you fool...Your sssoul is oursss..." It released Sonic as he fell into a forced sleep that would be very unpleasant...


	8. The Plan

"So how can we track them down?" Tails asked Dr. Eggman.  
The scientist thought a moment, then seemed to remember something. "I once did a research experiment on a power very similar to the evergy the Night Shadows are made up of. I discovered that they react very highly to Chaos Energy. If you could somehow find a way to channel that energy, you may be able to use it to track down their location!"  
Tails nodded. "Right. We have plenty of Chaos energy. Thank-you, Dr. Eggman."  
The doctor nodded, and signed off.  
Tails turned around and began to assign orders to everyone. "Alright, guys. I've got a plan, but it's not full-proof yet."  
Everyone listened as Tails gave them their jobs. "Knuckles, we'll need your digging and Chaos Emerald abilities to track down their location. Use this to communicate with us and tell us what you find." He passed Knuckles a long-range radio and a Chaos Emerald.  
Next, he turned to Shadow. "Once Knuckles gives us the signal, use Chaos Control to warp us to the location." Shadow nodded and Tails turned to Amy next.  
"After we arrive, distract any Night Shadows that could be lurking to give us time to get in." Amy nodded and Tails turned back around.  
"I'll add backup to the team once we get inside. Any questions?"  
No one answered, but Amy had a comment. "Wow, Tails! You sound like a real leader!"  
Tails scratched his ear a little, smiling in embarrasment. "Uh, thanks."  
After everyone was set to go, Knuckles dug underground and began to search for a signal...


	9. Nightmares

There was water. Black water everywhere. There wasn't a single area of land in sight. It was an endless sea of black water. And Sonic was in the middle of it.  
He gasped for air as it rolled over his head. He tried to swim up, but chains were holding down his legs. It was impossible to swim upwards for the right amount of air.  
The water lever was just below his nose, so every time the waves came up, he was submerged in water.  
Everything started to swirl around him, and the next thing he knew, the sea turned upside-down. He was hanging from his ankles above a pit of fire, and the chains began to disinigrate. Sonic screamed as he fell. He could feel the heat touching his face as he fell closer to the fire, and then all the of the sudden, he fell into a tube filled with a green, sticky substance.  
He looked up to see a lid had closed over the top of the tube. He looked around frantically, and saw Night Shadows outside the tube, laughing evily as they watched him. He pounded on the glass, trying to break through to escape, but it was no use.  
He breathed in, and the sticky green substance filled his lungs. He felt himself float downwards and watched as the Night Shadows only pointed and laughed. Then the sides of the tube began to close inwards.  
The tube exploded because of the pressure, and Sonic found himself in a tight box. It was see-through, so he could see everything happening outside the box.  
The box was so tight, Sonic couldn't move at all. He saw a Night Shadow carrying a bag of swords. Like a magician doing a magic trick, he stuck the knives into the box one by one. Sonic felt each sword peirce his skin, and he tried to hold back the screams of pain.  
The scene switched again and again as the never-ending nightmare continued. Sonic heard a voice-many voices joined together, in fact-talk to him. It said: "Give in...give in...give in..." over and over again.  
Sonic shook his head and screamed "NEVER!" The Night Shadows continued on to torture Sonic in his dreams, and finally they allowed him to wake up. Sonic's eyes shot open in panic and fear. He was sweating all over, and was breathing heavily. Sonic had just witnessed one of the worst powers the Night Shadows possessed.  
The leader of the Night Shadows laughed as he noticed Sonic's fear. Sonic was staring menacingly at the creature as it got closer to him. "Ssso...Are you ready to give in to usss?" Sonic shook his head and stayed calm yet angry. "I'll never give in to you."  
The Night Shadow's hand turned into an axe. "Very well...I guess it's time to let the _real _torture begin!"  
Sonic closed his eyes and waited for the axe to slice his skin when a voice called out into the darkness.  
"SONIC!"


	10. Light

"What isss thisss nonsenssse?" the Night Shadow said, confused.  
Sonic recognized the voice instantly. _Tails. _He thought. Sonic was about to tell the group to be careful when he was suddenly attacked by the Night Shadows again, making him scream in pain.  
Tails had tears in his eyes as he saw Sonic fighting to stay awake.  
Sonic stopped screaming, as he had been sent into a forced sleep that would be followed by terrible nightmares.  
Tails felt a pang of sorrow for Sonic as he watched him squirm about in his sleep, seemingly struggling to breathe.  
Amy and Shadow entered the cave and saw Sonic.  
Amy panicked at the sight of Sonic, but she soon developed a strong feeling of anger. She lifted her Piko-Piko hammer and gave a long, mean stare at the Night Shadows.  
Knuckles ran in with all his might. "This is for Sonic!" he yelled as he charged into battle with Amy at his side. They fought to distract the Night Shadows as Shadow skated over to Sonic. He placed a hand on Sonic's head and used his Chaos sense to relieve Sonic, but it was futile. Tails followed him and stood behind Shadow. After a few moments, he turned to Tails. "He's struggling in his sleep. We need to act. Now."  
Tails was desperately trying to hold back the tears that threatened to pour from his eyes. "What are we going to do?"  
Shadow examined Sonic once again. "It seems that he's in a coma-like state. This is caused by the Night Shadows lurking inside of him. Maybe-"  
Tails got an idea. "Maybe we can use Chaos energy to get the Night Shadow out of Sonic!" Shadow nodded. "Exactly. Hurry. We don't have much time!"  
Tails nodded and quickly gave Shadow a Chaos Emerald.  
Shadow held the Chaos Emerald above him while keeping one hand on Sonic's chest. "Hold him still. I need his body to be as calm as possible."  
Tails grabbed Sonic and tried to keep him still.  
"CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow shouted.  
There was a bright light, and for a second, all that could be seen was Sonic's figure on the ground. Everyone stopped in their tracks. The Night Shadows saw what they had dreaded all along...  
The Current of Forbidden Light.


	11. It's Not Over

Knuckles, Amy, Tails, Shadow, and the Night Shadows all stared in awe.  
"Is that the..." Knuckles began.  
"Yeah..." Amy replied to Knuckles' unfinished question.  
The light filled the entire abyss, causing distant screams from the NIght Shadows that lurked deeper in the endless cavern. The light enveloped everyone from head to toe. It was brilliant, like the Sun. But you could look at it and it wouldn't burn your eyes. It was warm like a gentle fire, but it didn't burn you. It was yellow, almost as if it were made of pure gold.  
It was then when everyone noticed where the light was coming from. It was emiting from Sonic himself. Although he was still struggling in his sleep, his glowing form rid the abyss of the Night Shadows.  
In it's last words, the leader spoke out to the group. "You foolsss may have ridden usss from thisss world, but you have not yet won! Heed my wordsss... We WILL come back, and next time...you shall sssuffer for all of eternity!"  
Then, the Night Shadows sank further into the ground and disappeared. They were now locked away under the planet until they gained enough strength to come up again.  
Everyone's attention turned to Sonic. He was still somewhat tied to the stake in the ground, shivering ans sweating uncontrollably in his sleep.  
Tails and the other rushed forward and untied him. They tried to wake him up. "Sonic? Can you hear me? Sonic?" Tails shouted.  
Knuckles grabbed Sonic by the shoulders and shook him slightly. "Yo, Sonic! WAKE UP!" Shadow kneeled down to Sonic's level. "C'mon, Faker... Don't do this to your friends. Snap out of it."  
Amy grabbed Sonic's hand and began to sob. "Sonic! Please wake up!"  
Sonic still hadn't waken up. He was only cringing and gasping in his sleep, unable to escape his terrible nightmares.  
The team slowly began to realize that this was far from over. They were now faced with another problem...  
Sonic might not be able to wake up.


	12. Help From Eggman

Everyone was trying to get Sonic to wake up. They yelled at him desperately, but they all knew that screaming wouldn't do any good.

Tails was the only one who was quiet. Even Shadow was sort of yelling to Sonic. But Tails was too deep in thought to notice what was going on. He was in his own world, replaying a voice over and over again in his mind...

"You can do it, buddy."

Tails looked up at the team and held out his arms. "Everyone, Stop!"

Everybody stopped what they were doing, and looked at Tails in suprise.

Tails walked over to the group. "I...", he began. "...We have to calm down. Sonic is counting on us to save him, and yelling at him isn't going to help. What we need to do is find out what's wrong with him!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Tails silently sighed in relief. "OK...Shadow, can you contact Eggman?"

Shadow nodded, but Amy butted in.

"What's wrong with you, Tails? You're going to talk to HIM, of all people? We can't trust Eggman!"

Tails tried to calm her down. "Amy, Eggman is the only person who knows the most about the Night Shadows. If we explain to him what the problem is, we might be able to help Sonic!" Amy was still frowning in disapproval, but she agreed anyway. "Fine! But only because it'll help save Sonic."

Shadow gave Tails the device. On it was Dr. Eggman.

"What's wrong now?" he asked with obvious annoyance in his voice.

Tails and the others explained what had happened.

Eggman stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "Hm...So, Sonic won't wake up? Even after you defeated the Night Shadows?"

Tails nodded. Eggman turned around to his computer and brought up a file. After a second of studying it, he turned around once again and spoke to the group.

"It seems that he won't wake up because there is still dark energy inside of him."

Tails froze in fear. "So you mean...There's a Night Shadow inside of him?"

Eggman nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Knuckles got in front of the screen. "Well, is there any way to get it out?"

Eggman thought a moment before answering. "There is a sacred place that is relatively close to your current location. It is known for it's special healing ability, but also for it's dangerous ritual."

Amy pondered on the term 'dangerous ritual'. "What do you mean by that?"

Eggman brought up a picture of an ancient scroll with strange symbols on them.

(A/N: Sorry, but there's about to be another 'history lesson' in the next chapter. ^^" It's going to be a vital part in chapter 15, so don't skip it.)

Eggman thought a bit on his choice of words. "I mean that it's a place where Sonic can be healed, but he could also possibly die."


	13. More Legends

Eggman took another moment to gather his thoughts.  
"Ancient inscriptions on this scroll tell of a sacred place that was called the Dwelling of Peace. People would travel across the planet just to see the little spot of land that supposedly had the power to heal. It was also one of the few places that was left untouched by the Night Shadows. But... in order to summon that power, a few things were needed."  
Tails urged Eggman to continue. "What are they?"  
"The petals of an Arousa flower, Chaos energy, and the blood of the suffering."  
Amy was still confused. "What's an...Arousa flower?"  
Knuckles spoke up. "It's a purple flower that symbolizes peace. My ancestors used it after a war to ward off any evil."  
Shadow spoke next. "Chaos energy will be easy to find. I've mastered the art of Chaos control, so there's no need to search for it."  
Tails spoke last. "So...what do you mean by the blood of the suffering?"  
Eggman pointed over to Sonic. "I mean _his _blood."  
Everyone understood. "Is that because he's the one who's suffering?" Tails asked.  
Eggman nodded. "If the person who is to be healed doesn't have blood to give, then the blood shall be offered by the person who is grieving the most."  
Knuckles made a fist. "I know where to get some of those flowers. I'll be back."  
Tails tried to call Knuckles back, but he was already gone.  
Eggman had more to tell, though. "That's not the end of the story. To heal a person, you have to have the proper ingredients, _and _the Dwelling of Peace has to accept to lend it's powers."  
"So what if it _doesn't _accept?" Shadow asked.  
Eggman continued. "Then Sonic would be killed."  
Everyone gasped in shock, except for Shadow, who wasn't the 'gasping type'.  
Tails interrupted. "Then, it wouldn't be a place of peace! If it was, then everyone and anyone could be healed!"  
Eggman nodded in agreement. "Exactly. And that's why it was renamed as The Dwelling of Truth."  
Shadow looked away in disgust. "Damn..."  
Eggman brought up a map on the screen. "Here is a map of your current location. The red dot is your destination. The device will guide you to the area. Good luck." Eggman signed off, but the map was still visible.  
Tails was about to talk when Knuckles came back with a batch full of purple flowers.  
"Knuckles! Are those the flowers?" Amy asked.  
Knuckles stood proudly. "Yep. I got a lot, in case we need more that a few."  
Tails gave him a thumbs-up. "Sweet!"  
Shadow walked forwards, carrying Sonic. "Instead of celebrating over a bunch of flowers, lets stop wasting time and get moving."  
Amy followed Shadow. "Yeah. C'mon, guys."  
Tails and Knuckles followed Shadow and Amy as they began moving torwards the Dwelling Of Truth.


	14. I Can't Wake Up

Sonic was hanging his head in misery and pain as he slouched against the chains that restrained him. Taking a look around at his surroundings for the 5th time, he noted the things that were obvious: a dark, purple, misty, cave-like, circular room with two poles parallel to each other. On each pole were two chains; one for his ankles and one for his wrists. He was suspended in the air, and he couldn't move at all. He was literally trapped.  
What's worse is that he knew he was dreaming, but didn't know why he couldn't wake up. And his dreams felt so real. It was like all this was really happening; it didn't even feel like he was dreaming.  
His attention turned to the center of the room. A black mist was forming, and he was pretty sure he knew what it was. The mist began to form a figure, which became the all-too-familiar form of Oxidai, the leader of the Night Shadows.  
He smiled coldly at Sonic, and began to move closer to him. "It'sss sssuch a pity that you haven't figured out how easssy it isss to jussst sssurrender and give in to usss..." he said. Sonic said nothing. He just stared at Oxidai.  
The creature continued to speak. "...No anssswer...Pathetic... Tell me, Sssonic...Why do you continue to fight when it isss obviousss that you will loossse?"  
No answer from Sonic.  
"It mussst be your friendsss, right? You believe that your friendsss will sssave you?"  
Sonic merely blinked boredly.  
Oxidai smirked. "Or maybe... maaaybe... they were too cowardly to even try to sssave you. Have you ever thought of that?"  
Sonic shifted a little, knowing for a fact that it was a possibility. _No...don't think that...Tails and the others..._  
Oxidai silently laughed. "In fact, they probably killed themssselvesss becaussse they were too pitiful to live any longer!"  
Sonic's eyes widened in anger and fear. Suddenly, Sonic began to shout. "No! They would never! They're stronger than that! They-" Sonic found that he couldn't speak any more. He couldn't even move his mouth. _Shadow powers... _he thought angrily.  
Oxidai smiled evily. "That'sss right...sssilent. Asss you should be. Now, it'sss time for a little trip. Ssssleep well." Oxidai said sarcastically as he neared Sonic.  
Sonic realized what Oxidai was planning to do and fought with all his might to avoid the creature's touch. He tried to protest, but he couldn't move his mouth.  
Oxidai laughed wickedly and touched Sonic's forehead, instantly making Sonic pass out. Oxidai laughed as he watched Sonic struggle in his nightmare that he was having in his dreams. (A/N: A little confusing? Sonic is dreaming in his dreams.)


	15. The Dwelling of Truth

"OK, guys. We're almost there." Tails told the group.  
Amy looked around nervously, as there was a strange white fog that enveloped the area and blocked their view.  
Knuckles and Shadow didn't even notice; they just kept moving forward.  
"What's this strange fog?" Amy asked Tails.  
Tails had noticed, too. But even he didn't know what it was. "I... I don't know... Hey, we're here."  
Everyone stopped and looked around.  
"...Here? Where's 'here'?" Knuckles asked in confusion.  
Tails and the other looked around for an entrance of some sort, when Shadow spotted something. "There." he pointed.  
A few yards away, there was a cave-like entrance that could barely be seen. As they all moved torwards it, they began to see some of the features.  
Along the sides of the entrance were carved figures of what looked like to be animals and flowers. Although it was old and falling apart, it was easy to see all the tiny details.  
Shadow walked into the tunnel, and Tails and the others followed.  
It was a long, dark, tunnel that seemed to stretch on for ages.  
When they finally came into an open area, what they saw even made Shadow gasp.  
It was a large, cave-like room made of gray stone, but there were giant, cyan-blue crystals studding the walls.  
A rainbow lake was on the far right side of the room, and above it was a smooth waterfall that came splashing down into the water.  
An omnious yet soothing light was filling the room with a soft glow, but the source of the light was unknown.  
Finally, there was a large piece of rock in the middle of the cavern, with a tall, flat stone engraved with strange markings next to it.  
As the team got closer to the engraved stone, they found that it was in some foreign language.  
"Tails, what does it say?" Amy asked.  
Tails tried to read it, but he didn't even know what language it was in. He turned to Amy. "I have no clue."  
When he turned back around, he found that the markings had _changed_. "What the?" he exclaimed. He pointed to the tall stone. "It...It changed! I-I can read it now!"  
Amy gasped. "It looks like... directions on what we need to do." she said.


	16. Dead Or Alive?

Knuckles read the stone carvings out loud. "The Dwelling of Truth is a place of peace. If you misuse it's powers, you shall forever be haunted. Be warned. To bring peace to the suffering, first place them onto the rock in the center."  
Shadow nodded and placed Sonic, who was still cringing and shivering, onto the stone.  
Tails continued this time. "Surround them with the petals of an Arousa flower." Knuckles sprinkled the petals around Sonic.  
Amy continued now. "Place at least one drop of the suffering's blood onto a Chaos Stone... that must be the Chaos Emerald..."  
Shadow pricked Sonic on the arm with a shard of one of the crystals, and placed the emerald underneath the bleeding cut. After a few seconds, a drop of blood fell from the cut and landed on the emerald.  
Knuckles concluded the instructions. "Place the Chaos Stone next to the person who is suffering, and command the Chaos Stone."  
Shadow called out to the Chaos Emerald.  
"Chaos... Control!"  
There was a bright flash of light. It was so bright, that everyone had to sheild their eyes. After a few moments, the room went completely dark...  
And then the lake began to light up again. They all looked at each other in confusion, and then they looked at Sonic. He had stopped moving completely.  
Tails ran over and placed a hand on Sonic's chest.  
"He's...he's not breathing..." he said, his voice cracking up.  
"What? You mean..." Knuckles asked.  
"...Sonic?" Amy said, barely above a whisper.  
Shadow was silent. He had his eyes closed, so it was impossible to tell what he was feeling.  
They all looked at each other, but had to look away again because of the tears that threatened to pour out of their eyes.  
Surprisingly, Shadow was the first to speak up after that.  
"...I'm sorry, Sonic..."  
They all circled Sonic's body in sadness and disbelief. Everyone was crying, even Shadow...  
And then...  
Sonic's ear twitched.


	17. Final Chapter

Tails was the first to notice. "S-Sonic?"  
Amy looked up at Tails. "...What did you...?"  
Tails got closer to Sonic. "Sonic... Are you OK?"  
Sonic's eyes slowly opened. Everything was blurry to him. He felt tired, dizzy, and groggy.  
Knuckles noticed Sonic's eyes opening, too. "Wha?...Sonic?"  
Sonic's vision cleared up a little more, and he could see Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Shadow a little better now. "Guys?" he said.  
Shadow's head jerked up at the sound of Sonic's voice. He walked over to Sonic and stared at him. "...You're alive... Is this a miracle?"  
Sonic slowly sat up and examined his wrists and ankles. They weren't in chains, and he was free. Finally, he looked up at the group, who was staring at him in disbelief. "...Yo?"  
Amy, in a fit of happiness, jumped onto Sonic and started kissing him. "Sonic! I can't believe it! I thought you were dead! Don't you EVER scare me like that again!"  
Sonic tried to gently push Amy off of him, but she was giving him one of her famous death hugs.  
Tails and the others laughed, as if nothing terrible had just happened 3 seconds ago.  
When Sonic finally got Amy off, he went over to Tails and hugged him. "I knew you could do it, buddy." He said.  
Tails hugged Sonic back, while remembering those words that had echoed in his mind ever since Sonic was kidnapped.  
_You can do it, buddy.  
_"Thanks, Tails." he said.  
Tails was blushing a little bit when he let go. "They helped, too." he said, pointing at Knuckles, Shadow, and Amy.  
Sonic smiled and gave them a thumbs-up. "Thanks, guys. Now, what do you guys say about heading home to catch some Z's? I think it's time that I got some _real _sleep."  
Eveybody laughed, and they all exited the cavern.  
... The distant sound of evil laughter echoed through the tunnel._  
_


	18. Part 2?

Hello all!  
Thank-you for reading "Dragged Under the Shadows"! It was so much fun writing this story and getting such amazing reviews! :D  
So, as you know, the story has now come to an end. BUT WAIT! There is a possibility that there could be a Part 2! :D :D :D  
In case you haven't seen it yet, there is a poll on my profile page that asks you if you would like a Part 2. Check it out and vote now!  
Oh, and by the way... I LOVE art, and I would LOVE to see some of yours! :)  
I would be absolutely grateful and happy if you made some fan art for this story. ^^  
In fact, it might even increase the chances of whether there will be a Part 2 or not. :)  
Anyway, thanks again for all the wonderful reviews, and thank-you for reading! :D

Sonic the hedgehog and all related characters belong to SEGA.

The Night Shadows belong to me.


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